What should I use to make sure my paint job doesn't rub off? Should I use a couple of coats of clear mask (which I have to do outside because it smells so much) or some basic black or something. I also thought about was to glue some of the extra plastic that I cut off to keep the paint nice in the places it rubbed off on my old shell.

rustoleum crystal clear enamel and then shoe goo

can i buy rustoleum at al's? i'm gonna probably go there tomorrow, but if they don't, does ace hardware have the stuff?

yes hardware store

no no no...this is what me and pretty much all the locals do around my neck of the woods ..go to walmart in the "car/truck paint" section theirs stuff made by plastic coat its in a red can and it called "SPRAY ON TRUCK BEDLINER" spray one normal coat then hit it with a hair dryer for a c few mins. and then spray on a "heavy" coat and after it dries over it night its harder then a virgin on his wedding night....never worry about paint flaking or cracking again and makes your body SUPPPPERRR STRONNGGG and it dont weigh very much eighter as if a few oz. are going to kill ya?

only problem with the bedlining other than the wieght is that it isnt very flexible i have seen guys actual paint start to crack underneath the lines.

hmm never had prbs around here?...well then idunno what to tell ya lol

I coat mine in a decent layer of shoegoo, EVERYWHERE. No matter if it's some lo/no wear place, just coat it. lol

X2 on the beadliner. I have done 2 bodies and no problems so far.

I say shoegoo and drywall tape on the fragile areas. it'll stay flexible and the drywall webing will help hold it together.

Can also use aluminum tape where the pipe would touch the body. it'll help keep the heat from melting the lexan quickly. constant contact will still melt it though.